Musings Upon Approaching Elections

It is not just the United States that is having elections -- though in the middle of all the hou-ha-ha of our elections it is easy to forget there are other elections being prepared – in other countries.

As I have made my way through this week I realized that in Afghanistan elections are being held shortly. I am sure I knew it but it had not QUITE registered until I began to note a flurry of election reports coming out of Afghanistan.

Women are being bullied to not vote by relatives who still have fond feelings for the Taliban. A recent survey also indicates that many of the women who have registered feel it is important to be guided in their votes by their husbands and fathers. Many, of both sexes, feel it is worth risking their lives to participate in the democratic process.

I hadn’t realized Hamid Karzai was being opposed by 17 different candidates, including one woman. This is quite different from the way things are here in America.

It is also different in that while Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry are verbally gunning for each other neither party is literally gunning at the other. Ten tribal leaders were beheaded recently [why this obsession with beheading? isn’t just killing them enough?] as they were seen as leaning too heavily towards Karzai and some other party decided they had to go.

Mr. Karzai has also had the challenge of a number of people actively attempting to remove him permanently – he has had a habit of attracting car bombs.

Despite all this, elections are going forward and they represent an important step toward a more stable Afghanistan which is an important step in securing a safer America – a point strongly held by both candidates.

This was the week of the Vice Presidential debates and I watched them while on business in Washington, D.C. A friend and I went to dinner at a restaurant that turned off sports and turned on politics.

It was an interesting event in that this may be the first time in modern history that the Vice Presidential debates really matter. This election is once again so close that everything said and done is going to be of consequence. Republicans were praying Cheney would wither Edwards while Democrats were placing their hopes in Edwards simply holding his own.

In a restaurant/bar that was obviously filled with Democrats, the huzzahs for Edwards were loud and frequent and that crowd certainly felt he won the night. He held his own well; though, in my opinion, neither man swept the evening. Both demonstrated their competence.

However, it has been interesting to note that both Bush and Cheney seemed wearier than Kerry or Edwards – perhaps understandable. They do have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

I have voted in every Presidential election since I was of an age to vote. The one time I was going to be out of the country, I made sure I cast an absentee ballot.

This election is exciting in many ways, despite the fact we are voting against the backdrop of the most serious global situation the country has faced since World War II.

Because of that, we, as a people are engaged, and it is good to hear the conversations in the halls of office buildings and on the streets. It is good to think of our country as involved in this election. Hundreds of thousands are registering to vote and people are paying attention.

Tony Blair will soon stand for re-election. Hamid Karzai will probably be elected in Afghanistan. Iraq is preparing itself for elections, an event which is also resulting in violent anticipation.

Only 10 to 18% of Americans have passports. As citizens of a geographically huge country separated by vast distances from much of the rest of the world, we have not felt the need to travel the world. Because this election is focused so heavily on issues surrounding our military involvement in faraway places, we have become, I hope, more aware of that wide world around us.